HOGAN COULD RUN AS INDEPENDENT, RUTHERFORD SUGGESTS: Gov. Larry Hogan may have campaigned for a more inclusive Republican Party, but his second-in-command floated the idea Wednesday that Hogan could leave it and run for president as an independent instead. Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
- Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford told Bryan Nehman and former Sen. Clarence Mitchell IV on WBAL radio Wednesday morning: “I really think the country is much more in the middle. I think it’s center-right sometimes, center-left sometimes but not on the extremes that we’re seeing. Maybe there’s room for independent candidates.” Bryan Sears/The Daily Record.
FREDERICK DECERTIFICATION, RECOUNT GIVES 1-VOTE WIN TO CHALLENGER: On Wednesday, the Frederick County Board of Elections voted to decertify the results of its primary election and began the tedious and much scrutinized process of re-scanning all its mail-in and provisional ballots, days after officials realized the number of votes counted exceeded the number of ballots they received. Karina Elwood and Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
- Jazmin Di Cola has defeated Frederick County Council President M.C. Keegan-Ayer in a Democratic primary by one vote, according to a revised count released Wednesday. The Frederick County Board of Elections spent Wednesday rescanning thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots after a discrepancy forced officials to decertify initial results of the July 19 primary. Jill Atelsek/The Frederick News Post.
PROTECTIONS AGAINST HEAT STRESS IGNORED, WORKER ADVOCATES SAY: Backers of Maryland’s legislation to protect workers against heat stress are frustrated by what they call the Hogan administration’s “lack of urgency” and transparency in creating regulations to implement the bill, nearly two years after it became law. The recent heat wave highlights the importance of heat regulations as the state Department of Labor continues work on carrying out House Bill 722, which passed the General Assembly in 2020. Nene Narh-Mensah/Maryland Matters.
VOTERS FINALLY GET MAIL-IN BALLOTS – FOR 2020 ELECTION: Over the weekend, residents of on Baltimore neighborhood finally received their requested mail-in ballots – for the 2020 general election. Tom Ouellette, a spokesman for the Postal Service, said,“The Postal Service discovered a tray of undelivered mail in a Baltimore facility last Friday, Aug. 5. The tray’s mail was from year 2020 and contained what appeared to be 26 blank ballots mailed from the Baltimore City Board of Election to addresses with a Baltimore ZIP Code.” Sophie Kasakove/The Baltimore Banner.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES NO LONGER GET A PASS IN HOV LANES: Electric vehicles will no longer get a free pass on Maryland’s high-occupancy-vehicle lanes beginning this fall. Starting Oct. 1, the state won’t allow an exemption for drivers of EVs and hybrid vehicles to use HOV lanes without the required number of occupants. The adjustment will treat those vehicles in the same way as gas-powered vehicles. Luz Lazo/The Washington Post.
POLICE REFORM ADVOCATE SAY EMERGENCY REGS WEAKEN 2021 LAW: A coalition of police reform advocates rallied in Annapolis Wednesday to call attention to proposed emergency regulations they say would weaken a landmark 2021 law that created new mechanisms for police accountability. Madeleine O’Neill/The Daily Record.
NICE/MIDDLETOWN BRIDGE TO BE TORN DOWN DESPITE CONGRESSMEN’s REQUEST: Top Maryland Transportation Authority leaders have signaled that they intend to tear down the current Nice/Middleton Bridge in Charles County as soon as the replacement span opens to traffic. That demolition will come over the objections of Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D) and U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D), who asked Transportation Secretary Jim Ports in July to delay action long enough to allow for an “independent” study of the possible re-use of the span for recreational activities. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
HOYER, SECTY WALSH VISIT BOWIE MASONRY TRAINING FACILITY: Slightly more than a week after Congress passed a domestic package to bolster the chip manufacturing industry and finance in science research, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh visited a masonry training facility in Bowie. William Ford/The Washington Informer.
WA CO GAMING PANEL GIVES $2.59M TO COMMUNITY EFFORTS: The Washington County Gaming Commission allocated $2.59 million for fiscal year 2022, which ended June 30. Gaming funds will help pay for prescription medicines, building repairs, youth sports equipment and dozens of other community needs in the coming year. The total is up $129,336 compared to fiscal year 2021. Mike Lewis/The Hagerstown Herald Mail.
COMMANDERS MOVE TOWARD SPORTS BETTING AT FED-EX FIELD: Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder took a big step Wednesday toward getting a license that allows him to open a sportsbook at FedEx Field. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency voted 6-1 to approve a license for Snyder. Licenses were also approved by the same margin for Long Shots, a sports bar in Frederick, and Chesapeake Gaming, which runs an off-track betting parlor in Boonsboro. John Domen/WTOP-FM.
